Farming Connect can still fund 80% of advice to farm businesses in Wales. This advice can be used for all aspects of advice from nutrition to fertiliser advice through to business plans and cash flows. Contact Nerys in the office for more details.

We produce benchmark data for all categories of farm, and customers find it to be one of the most useful pieces of data produced. The results of benchmarking allow farm businesses to identify areas of weakness and opportunity.

If you are interested in becoming part of the benchmark, contact us. All data is collected by our own farm recorders, using Farmplan software. An annual report is given, with the benchmark data and advice on areas to examine. The cost of this service depends on enterprise size, but offers fantastic value for money, and a proper business MOT.

As many clients are saying, this is the most difficult spring in living memory – low grass growth, low temperature and low forage stocks. Cashflow is under pressure, and many are struggling.

There is no easy answers, but try and take some easy practical steps to aid the pressure:

Cull any unproductive animals – reduce the grazing pressure
Bring some youngsters in and feed straw and concentrates
Use the electric fence to ration grass
Back fence where possible to prevent back grazing
Take silage off sooner rather than later – bring some silage land back to grazing rotation
Speak to your bank earlier and present a plan clearly showing requirements and plan of repayment

Each situation is different, but doing nothing will not help!